A Conversation With God

I was sleeping soundly
and suddenly, I was woken with a jolt.
A bright light was shining
and it was emitting rays of gold.
In that light I could see an Entity
and it seemed to envelop my personality.
He said,"Come to me, my child,
I am God."
I was deeply moved
and could not utter a word.
He said,"Do you have any questions?
I am here to answer them."
I suddenly found my voice and said,
"I would like to ask You a few things
if You have the time."
God answered graciously,
"Eternity is My time
and it is enough for Me to do everything in."
I asked a little hesitantly,
"What surprises You most about mankind?"
God smiled benignly and said,
"Very quickly they get bored with being children
and want to grow up.
And, when they do grow up,
they want to be children again.
They are in a rush to make money
and lose their health in the process.
And, then, they lose their money
to restore their health.
They think about their future
and pine for what is not.
They forget the present
and, then, they live, neither for the present
nor for the future.
They live as if they will never die
and, when they die,
they do so so ignominiously
as if they had never lived."
I was trying to understand all that God had said.
Suddenly, He took my hands
in His hands
and reassured me with His beatific smile.
I found the courage and asked again,
"What would You like to teach Your children?"
God smiled again and answered,
"That you cannot force anyone to love you.
That, if you love someone,
you must let him go and set him free.
If he would come back,
he would be yours forever.
If he doesn't, he never was yours to love.
That, what is precious is not life,
but what they do with their life.
It is not important who you are.
What you are, is more important.
That, comparisons never got anyone anywhere.
But, what you are as an individual
is going to open the Gates of Heaven for you.
That, riches are not going to get you a good life.
You are rich if your needs
are the least,
and that would result in a fruitful life.
That, it is easy to hurt someone
and make him bleed.
But, it is a tough task
to tend to wounds and cure them.
That, the quality admired the most by all
is to learn to forgive and forget.
That, money is important in life.
But, it cannot buy you a night's sound sleep.
And, above all, to know
that your Dharma is to do your Karma
without thinking about the fruits.
Follow the path of goodness
and leave the rest to ME.
To understand
that I am there for you now
and will be there forever.
That you should have faith in ME
and I will show you the path to Heaven."
I stood there in front of Him
and could not utter another word.
I was so awe-struck by the spectacle and the replies
that I felt overwhelmed.
Suddenly, the light disappeared
and with it the Vision of God.
My life was enriched for a while
but I was hungry for more.
Like all human beings
greed enveloped me
and I wanted to have more.
Then, I remembered what God had said
and, all avarice, anger, hatred and pride left me.
My whole being was filled with love,
Love for God and Love for my fellow beings.
Life seemed to acquire a new meaning.
I felt one with the ONENESS of GOD.
And, the lesson I learnt was---
If God is with me,
then, nothing and no one can go against me.(13.09.2000)

The Sound of Silence

The silence is too loud.
It screams.
Gnaws at the conscience.
It mocks.
And,strangely,it leads to nothing.
It is there
all around
enveloping everything.
It eats at the insides
making them hollow.
Yet,no sound comes out.
It remains inside.
But,the screams can be heard everywhere.
It is there
within and without.
It screams
and continues to gnaw at the conscience.
And yet,we do nothing.
We are slaves to this silence
which is too loud,
which screams
and wants to be heard.
Yet,we do nothing about this silence
which screams.(22.12.2000)

साथ

दो लोग, जो साथ-साथ चल रहे हैं;
क्या वे सचमुच साथ हैं?
क्या वे "साथ" का अर्थ समझते हैं?
वे साथ हैं,क्योंकि वे शादी-शुदा हैं!
वे साथ हैं,क्योंकि उनके बच्चे हैं!
क्या साथ रहने का कारण यही है?
क्या ये साथ,कुछ समय के बाद,
उनको एक दूसरे से दूर नहीं कर देता?
क्या उनका साथ केवल एक
समझौता नहीं बन कर रह गया?
जहाँ दो लोग,नदी के दो किनारों की तरह
साथ तो चल रहे हैं,पर कभी मिलते ही नहीं!
साथ-जो केवल शारीरिक है,
जिसमें कोई आत्मीयता,कोई अपनापन नहीं!
साथ,जो नासूर बन,दिन-रात रिसता रहता है!
क्या ऐसा साथ बहुत दिन तक चल पायेगा,
उन दो लोगों के बीच,
जो केवल साथ-साथ चल रहे हैं?
और साथ चलते हुए भी साथ नहीं हैं?(12.09.2001)

अँधेरा

अँधेरा हर चीज़ को खा जाता है
अँधेरे में साया भी साथ छोड़ देता है
पर रोशनी की एक छोटी सी किरण
अँधेरे को चीर कर रख देती है
और
अँधेरा, जो स्वयं को बहुत बलवान समझता है,
रोशनी के आते ही गायब हो जाता है
और उसमें समा जाता है
अँधेरे से घबराना बेवकूफी है,
नासमझी है, नादानी है
क्योंकि आशा की रोशनी
सदा हर अँधेरे को ख़त्म कर देती है!!(10.05.2002)

Luck

The more I think about life
The more I see no rhyme or reason in it.
Why some things work and some don't?
Why some of us get lucky and some don't?
I fail to understand.
Luck and time are not on my side for sure.
Otherwise,who knows,I too might have been
One of those lucky ones!!!!(14.02.2009)

मुलाकात

एक दिन जब पीछे मुड़ कर देखा
ज़िन्दगी पीछे खड़ी थी!
जी तो रही थी मैं
पर जिंदा नहीं थी!
वो चुलबुलापन और वो हँसी के ठहाके
कहीं पीछे छूट गए थे!
जिम्मेदारियों ने इतना जकड लिया था
कि मुस्कुराना ही भूल गयी थी!
अचानक एक दिन
फिर ज़िन्दगी से मुलाकात हो गयी!
और, आज हम दोनों साथ-साथ चल रहे हैं
उसी चुलबुलेपन और हँसी के ठहाकों के साथ ले कर
जो कभी पीछे छूट गए थे!(06.11.2005)

अनजाना

वो अनदेखा सा था
इक अनजाना
वो भी आगे बढ़ा
मैंने भी हाथ बढाया
फिर न जाने कौन सी आँधी चली
उसकी आहट उसमें दब कर रह गयी
बिना कुछ कहे वो समय के अँधेरे में गुम हो गया
वो अनजाना अनजाना ही रह गया
अपने रहेस्यों को खुद में समेटे
वो चला गया
समय की धारा में वलीन होता
वो चला गया
और उसकी अनकही
उसी के साथ चली गयी
मैं समझ नहीं पायी
इस रहस्य को
पर वो अनदेखा सा अनजाना सा
चला गया!!!!(06.02.2010)